Allah row reignited due to flawed ruling, inept authorities, says academic

A protest held in Kuala Langat, Selangor, on Friday to object to the use of the word 
Allah by Catholic churches. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Najjua Zulkefli.

The battle over the word Allah in Malaysia has spilled beyond newspapers due to a vague judgement that has confused conservative Muslim groups and Putrajaya's apathy to clear the issue, an academic told The Malaysian Insider.

Christians' use of the word hit the headlines this past week after a Catholic priest said Selangor's Islamic laws did not apply to the community, prompting the state Islamic Religious Department (Jais) to raid a Bible store and seize 320 Malay and Iban language Bibles that contain the word Allah – against a federal agreement that the Bibles can be used in Malaysia.

"We have two situations here; firstly, the Court of Appeal's decision denying Catholic weekly Herald the rights to use the word Allah in its publication raises the question of whether others, apart from publications, can use the word.

"The other situation is where Malay rights groups have perceived the ruling as a final verdict that all Christians cannot use the word Allah during mass, hence the confusion," Universiti Malaysia Kelantan's (UMK) Professor Datuk Abdul Halim Sidek said.

He pointed out that to make matters worse, there has not been any attempt by any government agency to clarify the matter after the Court of Appeal had overturned a 2009 High Court judgment allowing the Herald to use Allah in its Bahasa edition.

"This matter has been blown out of proportion and exploited for political reasons," said Abdul Halim, who is the secretary for the political security and international affairs portfolio in the National Council of Professors (MPN).

"Even the government appears confused over the matter and Jais seems to believe that the court judgement gives them the rights to storm into the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) and confiscate the religious texts," he added.

The raid last Thursday has led to condemnation by politicians, religious leaders and lawyers who say it was unconstitutional and illegal although Jais had taken police along to enforce a state law.

Abdul Halim said that the matter should have been discussed to clear the air and to avoid religious tension. Christians form nearly 10% of the 29 million population in Malaysia, where the official religion is Islam.

"It seems to me the judges were trying to play it safe, so this is the end result, where everyone interprets the judgement based on their whims and fancies," he said.

Abdul Halim also said that the Court of Appeal judgement was "more of a policy decision and not one delivered to solve the issue".

"This matter has to be cleared up and not prolonged... people are misinterpreting the already blurred judgement," he added.

But the academic said the government has to do more than just keep quiet over the issue.

"Claiming to be a country which practices democracy and having a crucial issue staring back at us is just wrong. Also, it is utterly wrong to deny the constitutional and religious rights of the Christians.

"We cannot simply hold those of that faith accountable as it is the judgement that's causing the problem," he added.

Politicians from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition have appealed for calm and respect for the judgement, which they had earlier said applied only to the Herald and not to the Christian community.

Selangor Umno blamed the current situation on Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew for saying that Catholic churches in Selangor will continue to use the word "Allah" during its weekend services in Bahasa Malaysia despite Jais's intention to send reminders on a 1988 state enactment prohibiting non-Muslims from using the word.

Andrew had told The Malaysian Insider that Article 11(3) (A) of the Federal Constitution prescribes that every religious group has its rights to manage its own religious affairs.

“Our religion cannot be managed by any Muslim group. It is against the Federal Constitution.

"We will continue to use the word Allah in our masses,” he had said, adding that Jais as an Islamic body has no jurisdiction over other religious bodies.

“At the moment, the case is still in court and no decision has been made yet. They can’t pre-empt this,” the Herald editor had added, referring to the Catholic Church's move to appeal the Court of Appeal ruling.

Police officers said Andrew's remarks to The Malaysian Insider prompted at least 86 reports in Selangor alone. Police have started investigating the issue under the Sedition Act and has interviewed three journalists from The Malaysian Insider.

There has also been calls for protests outside churches today but Selangor Umno has said it will not conduct demonstrations although other conservative Muslim and Malay groups have said they will hold rallies against the Christians this weekend. – January 5, 2014.